The New York Liberty were in the midst of a losing streak for the first time this season and still without their star center in Jonquel Jones. They were on the road facing the Golden State Valkyries, and while it came down to the final minutes, the Liberty came out on top with the 81-78 win.
The Valkyries jumped out of the gate from beyond the arc, knocking down three triples before Rebekah Gardner responded with a three of her own to trail 13-10 just four minutes into the game. Breanna Stewart was fouled while going up for a layup, and her and-one play tied the score less than a minute later.
Neither team could break away as they kept trading the lead back and forth for the rest of the quarter. Golden State finished the first 10 minutes with a 32-29 advantage, but much to the dismay of Stewart, who recorded 12 points in the frame.
The Liberty opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take back the 40-34 lead. The Valkyries wasted no time to respond, going on a 7-2 run to trail just 44-43. Golden State had 31 seconds to make another bucket to go into halftime with the advantage but instead Stewart, who added nine more points in the quarter, made two free throws to extend the lead to 46-43.
The Valkyries found a spark again, and a steal and make from Kayla Thornton capped off a seven-point run to lead 52-49. Kate Martin added to the scoreboard with an and-one against Sabrina Ionescu, but Gardner responded with a triple, and Kennedy Burke added two free throws to keep the game in a back-and-forth spiral at 55 with 4:14 remaining in the third.
Martin led the way for her team with a career-high 21 points of 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 from deep. Three other Golden State players tallied double digits, but so did five Liberty players.
Stewart was hot in the first half but disappeared in the second, scoring just two more points for a total of 23. Burke took on a heavy scoring role and contributed 20 points, going 6-of-14 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range. Gardner, Ionescu, and Marine Johannes all added 11 points in the outing.
New York entered the fourth quarter with a 64-61 advantage, and Ionescu added to it with a triple a minute in. It was holding the lead, but Martin knocked down back-to-back threes to tie the score at 72 with 4:12 left to play. Stewart responded right before Martin sank another deep shot to take a one-point lead with less than two minutes to go.
That’s when Ionescu took over to seal the deal in her home area. Ionescu made seven free throws and picked the ball away in the final two minutes. Martin added another three-pointer, but her final attempt with three seconds left didn’t fall as the Liberty picked up the three-point win.
